The holidays are a great time to get creative and bring additional revenue to your business with some holiday-inspired marketing. Here are 4 tips you can use right now to start capturing that extra seasonal revenue!
- Turn Your Product/Service Into the “Perfect Gift” If you want to make the most of seasonal spending turn your product or service into a gift with basic “perfect gift” messaging. Some examples:
- An hour consultation with a CPA would make the perfect gift for your friend that is thinking about opening a business.
- A manicure or pedicure makes the perfect gift for that new mom or busy teacher that spends all their time making sure others are taken care of but forgets themselves.
- Two hours of design time is the perfect gift for that newly engaged couple that is going to need save the dates and invitations.
- A gift card to a local men’s clothing store makes the perfect gift for that boyfriend or husband that really needs a hint that they could use a couple new dress shirts.
Once you share your product or service as a gift make it easy to buy as one. For a service, share examples of what one, two, or three hours of service will provide if customers want to pre-pay as a gift. For products, make sure gift cards or certificates are available, as well as stocks of nice gift boxes, bows and ribbons.
- Organize Offline and Online Announcements
Your customers won’t know what you’re selling for the holidays if you don’t tell them. If you have a few different items or services, design a one-pager that lists everything and make it available to every person that comes through the door. If your business is mainly online, that one-pager should be available to print out on your website as well as content you send to customers in an email with a quick “Take a look at our holiday specials” message.
- Be the Hero
If you offer any product or service that people can use more of during the holidays, be the holiday hero. This clearly works for restaurants and event planners, but almost any business should take the opportunity to be a hero. Gyms can offer a December Training Special to keep people motivated during the holidays. Pet boarding businesses should present holiday travel specials. Financial planners can provide pre-holiday budgeting consultations. Creating specials that make people’s lives easier during the holidays is a great opportunity for business owners to take advantage of seasonal spending.
- Increase Exposure with a Giveaway
It really is the season of giving and your business shouldn’t be any different. First, create a giveaway that works for you financially but is also desirable enough that people will want to put forth the effort to enter. Then promote it everywhere, this means both online and at your physical location (with printed materials) if you have one. Next, ensure that all holiday specials and packages are in front of people’s eyes when they enter the contest, whether it’s on a form in person or online. You want to make contestants aware of your offers, regardless if they win or not. A successful holiday contest helps you build a strong new customers list and provides additional exposure for your services or products.
The holidays really are one of the best times to capture extra revenue for any type of business. While it does take some advanced planning and creativity, you can rest assured that if you put forth the effort and make the process easy for customers, you have a great chance of capturing a piece of that holiday pie…and I don’t mean the kind you eat!